Publisher Emap is set to plough £ 2 million into Birmingham-based rock radio station Kerrang!105.2.

The announcement comes as the station is poised to celebrate its first year in operation on June 10 .

A spokesman said the station has 324,000 listeners a week in the West Midlands. It is also available digitally across the UK attracting a weekly audience of 1.12 million. Emap yesterday posted a good start to the year - despite a 22 per cent decline in profits and tough trading in France.

The publisher of Heat, Closer and Zoo magazines reported a good advertising and circulation performance since March 31 in most of its business divisions.

Consumer magazine advertising showed good overall year-on-year growth in the first quarter of the current year and business magazine display advertising had continued to expand in line with the strong growth in the second half of last year.

Radio advertising was outperforming a weak market and was expected to grow over the quarter as a whole.

However, year- on- year declines in the group's French TV listings titles such as Tele Star and Tele Poche were still affecting French newsstand revenues, although sales were now more stable on a week-toweek basis.

The group said annual pretax profits dropped to £112 million due to a non-cash charge of £ 30 million, although pretax profit before goodwill and one-off items rose five per cent to £205 million.

The company said £ 9 million of investment would be made in glossy UK women's weekly Grazia, and £3 million in digital radio.

The Kerrang! cash comes on top of £3 million invested in launch year.

Chief executive Tom Moloney said the company had managed to achieved earnings growth of four per cent in tough trading conditions last year.

He said Emap's consumer magazine and business magazine businesses had done well, although trading had been more difficult in its radio operations and in France.